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Fluency
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for Discussion Postings.
Reading includes mulitple skills. So far we have been talking about
"saying" the words, right? Yep, that is still reading! For most of us,
though, we think of reading as understanding what we read. From the
previous posts we have learned that being able to "say" the words is an
integral part of understanding. Now what?
The next step is fluency.
Research
#1
Fluency is more than
speedy, accurate word reading; a fluent reader also uses
appropriate phrasing and expression.
Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First
Steps for Teachers
(McShane, 2005, p.49)
A reader's fluency
affects his/her comprehension. If a reader has trouble phrasing, this
affects automaticity and slows down reading. In turn, this affects
comprehension. (Hey, you math people,
this is not unlike students learning math facts, is it? I know that
many of you are looking for automaticity on those.)
Research
#2
Principle 8
Fluency is an issue for adult beginning
readers, intermediate readers, and perhaps for those reading at more
advanced ABE levels. There are very large differences between
adults with good and poor reading fluency, and adult beginning
readers' fluency is similar to the fluency of children who are
beginning readers. (Kruidenier, 2002).
Research-Based Principles for
Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction (Krudenier, 2002,
p.23)
#3
Most adult beginning readers need work on
fluency because fluency depends on rapid accurate word reading, and
beginners are, by definition, struggling to read words. However,
even those with higher-level silent reading comprehension scores
may need work on fluency and the underlying decoding skills and
knowledge, if they are to progress beyond their current levels of
reading achievement.
Applying Research in
Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers
(McShane, 2005, p.50)
RESOURCES
Need more
information about fluency? As usual, the ARCS website can provide
that:
http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/
We know that much
of the adult reading research is still based on youth and reading;
however, you may still want to take a look at the article "New
Research on an Old Problem: A Brief History of Fluency" to get a
bigger picture of fluency.
Chunking
Chunking is a technique to
encourage the student to read phrases of language that represent
meaning rather than separate words.
QUESTIONS FOR THINKING/DISCUSSION:
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Regardless of your content area, do you ever
have your students read aloud to you?
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If so, what are you discovering when they do
that?
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What strategies have you used to teach fluency
to your students?
SUMMARY
Send your
comments, thoughts, or questions to
norenehp@bresnan.net.
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